Olivia, Sofia, and Matt from HSMTMTS

Meet East High’s New Wildcats in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

By Zach Johnson

Attention, Wildcats: Starting November 12, you’re invited to watch the drama unfold in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series! Set at the same East High where the original movie was filmed, the 10-episode scripted series follows a group of students as they prepare for opening night of their school’s first-ever production of—you guessed it!—High School Musical. With meta references and docu-style elements, it’s a modern twist on the movie we fell in love with 13 years ago! Call it… the start of something new.

At D23 Expo 2019 in August, we caught up with cast members Joshua Bassett (Ricky), Olivia Rodrigo (Nini), Matt Cornett (E.J.), Julia Lester (Ashlyn), Larry Saperstein (Big Red), Sofia Wylie (Gina), Dara Reneé (Kourtney), and Frankie A. Rodriguez (Carlos) to get the inside scoop on their characters and find out what set this series apart from the film trilogy. This is Disney+… You didn’t expect them to stick to the status quo, did you?

Watch the video below to get the 411. And don’t worry, there isn’t a pop quiz afterward:

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which has already been renewed for a second season, hails from creator Tim Federle and also stars Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn and Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Mazzara. As a special gift for fans, three networks—ABC, Disney Channel, and Freeform—will present the first episode, directed by Tamra Davis, for one night only on November 8 at 8 p.m. ET. Now this is what we’ve been looking for!

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